Erik Alonso is hoping to have completed his takeover of Derby County by the end of next week, according to Sky Sports.

A report from The Athletic revealed this week that the Spaniard is closing in on a deal to take the reigns at Pride Park with a deal agreed with the current owners.

As a result the proposed deal has now been passed on to the EFL who will carry out an Owners and Directors Test to ratify the deal.

Alonso shared a formal statement announcing the deal on social media, saying: "We are privileged to take ownership of one of the founding members of the Football League and to build a fresh future for the fans, staff and players of Derby County.

"We are looking forward to working with Wayne Rooney and his team, and will do everything possible to support the club’s vision and ambition."

As per Sky Sports, it's been a long road to getting a deal done.

They claim that Alonso first made contact about buying the club from Mel Morris around nine months ago prior to any potential deal with Derventio Holdings Ltd.

Throughout the takeover it's also claimed that he's been advised by former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon who has helped him through the process as the 29-year-old looked to push through a deal.

The verdict

This is a very exciting step for Derby County.

Much of this season has been marred by the ongoing takeover talks that have rumbled on in the background and it appeared that no deal was going to be done.

Thankfully for supporters there now seems to be some progress and it appears that it could be done sooner rather than later.